Uncapping

[Erichalfbee]

Has anybody got any bright ideas for a home made uncapping tray? I’ve found photos of one @pargyle has made but not quite sure it would work for me. I use a knife and an uncapping fork. ( not interested in a heat gun)
Fingers and wrist is sore after a days extracting.
Cheers

 

[pargyle]

Has anybody got any bright ideas for a home made uncapping tray? I’ve found photos of one @pargyle has made but not quite sure it would work for me. I use a knife and an uncapping fork. ( not interested in a heat gun)
Fingers and wrist is sore after a days extracting.
Cheers

I use a knife and an uncapping fork.... most of the time ... the planer works well on frames with even cappings... sadly, in most cases, my bees don't oblige.

I made a new one with a bigger tray and three holes in the gantry to hold the frame lug - that way I can adjust the frame to suit whether I uncap it left or right hand although the middle one is most useful.

Why do you think it won't work ?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Why do you think it won't work ?

It's just me. Can you post a pic of the new gantry.
How do you stop the whole thing sliding along the table? Does it sit over the tray straight onto the work surface?
I watched a YouTube video of an uncapping machine just to marvel at the precision and speed....sigh!

 

[enrico]

I have a large tray with edges. In one corner I have two large Clips that hold each side of a piece of wood across the corner. In the centre of that is a screw sticking up that I balance the end of the lug on for uncapping. works a treat with fork, knife or gun

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

just splash out on a decent Abelo uncapping tray, stop it sliding by putting a damp cloth under the whole thing, or buy a rubber non slip mat (usually available in caravanning type outlets)

 

[Erichalfbee]

just splash out on a decent Abelo uncapping tray, stop it sliding by putting a damp cloth under the whole thing, or buy a rubber non slip mat (usually available in caravanning type outlets)

More kit!

 

[Erichalfbee]

just splash out on a decent Abelo uncapping tray, stop it sliding by putting a damp cloth under the whole thing, or buy a rubber non slip mat (usually available in caravanning type outlets)

This ?
https://www.abelo.co.uk/shop/honey-processing/uncapping-tray-with-cappings-bag/But then I’m faced with how to keep the frame from sliding about.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

this
https://www.abelo.co.uk/shop/honey-processing/uncapping-tray-with-spike/
or this

https://www.abelo.co.uk/shop/honey-processing/uncapping-tray-plastic/
but if you go with the spike one, I would contact Damian to see whether they could supply the shallower tray rather than the deep one as the setup is a bit too tall to use on a kitchen worktop

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Checked the Abelo website and I put together something similar last year. Previously I'd been using a couple of pyrex bowls. I spent a similar amount on my version. The edges on the mesh are pretty vicious. Have to do something about that.
Holds cappings from 4 supers, ish. Cover it in clingfilm and leave it overnight to drain.

 

[JamezF]

Rather than spikes my uncapping tray has a couple of recesses cut with a wide flat-bladed drill bit.

James

 

[pargyle]

It's just me. Can you post a pic of the new gantry.
How do you stop the whole thing sliding along the table? Does it sit over the tray straight onto the work surface?
I watched a YouTube video of an uncapping machine just to marvel at the precision and speed....sigh!

I'll get it out of store this morning and photograph it.

It's mounted on a plywood base board which the tray sits on. I have a silicon baking sheet that sits on the table and the whole thing sits on so it does not slide about. A tea towel would probably do the same or some of those rubber non-stick pads you can buy. Stan could knock one up in about an hour for you to try with stuff he has stashed in his workshop and if you found it worked - he would build you something beautiful rather than my lash up. The real innovation is the stainless blade that you can clean the knife or fork off when it gets gooey. The other thing with the holes is that the frame will sit in it without being held - I tried a spike and found it didn't work for me as I'm pretty cack-handed and if I needed to leave the frame to do something else (shut the valve on the extractor) I can just leave the frame sitting there ...

 

[Amari]

I use a tray by Giordan which I purchased from a trade stand about ten years ago.
Ads: Your partner can stack 6-8 frames on the rack as you uncap. Cappings fall into a tray.
Disads; heavy and unwieldy to carry from the shed.
Two weeks ago I tried the heat gun once more - smaller plastic tray suffices - but the wax of old combs congeals which reduces the honey yield and the bees can't clean them. Pic shows such frames a week after being placed above the crown board for 'cleaning'.

 

[pargyle]

Here you go ... I find that a 25mm hole is a perfect fit for holding the frame in place. This was cobbled up from bits I had in stock - I'll get round to making a new one at some point with a melamine faced peice as the base and probably some beech timber for the gantry .... I don't worry about draining the cappings in the tray as I have my drainings bucket that I just transfer them to when the tray gets full.

Which way round you would site the gantry and use it depends on whether you are right or left handed of course ! I'm right handed so the tray sits to the left and I uncap with the tools in my right hand.

It does not show it very well in the photos but the frame does not sit vertically in the hole - it sits at about 45 degrees over the tray ...

 

[drex]

I use a board like pargyles screwed across the middle of a plastic washing up bowl. Simple, cheap and efficient

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Ads: Your partner can stack 6-8 frames on the rack as you uncap. Cappings fall into a tray.
Disads; heavy and unwieldy to carry from the shed.

put them on a diet - or tell the bugger to walk

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have a Thorne uncapping g tray that I’ve had for years. Never found it easy. Stan had a brilliant suggestion. Take the central frame support out. He’s fashioned two spikes, one upright and the other at 45 degrees. I’ve finished for now but I’ll see how that works.

 

[pargyle]

That's a nice tray... they don't sell them anymore sadly. I don't like the spikes as you have to hold the frame all the time .. the only advantage of a spike is that you can spin the frame whereas with a hole you lift the lug out and turn the frame over.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Holding the frame is ok with me. I have made a valiant effort to cut down all of them this year so that they are all the same with no giant fat frames.

 

[Garry R]

As cheap as chips. A plastic storage box with a gantry with a hole at each end lined up with a hole in the lip and tied in with garden wirw = the soft coated one. There is slot for the frames ie no holding. For a while I used the spike method but it is a faff and balancing is key. I did five supers single handed this morning no problem. The cappings drop into the storage box then into a sieve into a bucket.

In a bid to electrify a 9 frame radial extractor I used a connector as shown and a cordless electric drill from aldi . The connector allows me to pull the drill off the shaft while it is rotating and allowing the extractor to run free as the drill chuck does not have a free wheel mode. It takes a bit of effort holding the drill and not going too fast so keeping it steady is the key but it worked. See photos